BCE (BCE) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of C$0.80 per share for the quarter.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.73 by C$0.03. The business had revenue of C$6.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.48 billion. BCE had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 10.81%.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$45.29 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$47.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$51.15. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. BCE has a 52 week low of C$43.96 and a 52 week high of C$65.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.998 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.81%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Cormark decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$53.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$52.48.

About BCE

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.